In a season where Oakland was suppose to start step one in yet another rebuild; they defied all logic and captured the American League West inremarkable fashion. With memories still fresh of walk offs, the bernie, and a well deserved standing ovation following an abrupt end to the divisional series. The question remains…Where do the A’s go from here?

Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Thus far the needs and corresponding wants of the organization have differed this offseason in a fashion that’s new to many fans. With the departure of so many productive and favorite players in recent seasons, it’s a welcome sight that Billy Beane has not had to reinvent his team again this winter. Fans can take solace in the fact that many of their favorites are a lock to return in 2013.

Early on in the winter, news broke that a proposed 2-year contract extension was refused by Jonny Gomes and it became evident that the A’s would lose one of their team leaders. Wasting no time, Beane sent Cliff Pennington packing to Arizona for former All-Star outfielder Chris Young. It was a reactionary move that would would be replicated nearly two months later, when the A’s would lose starting shortstop Stephen Drew to Boston and sign Japanese import Hiroyuki Nakajima on the same day. In an escalating market, the A’s have largely stood pat while other teams have overpaid for marginal players.

From an sentimental standpoint, the loss of Brandon McCarthy to the Arizona Diamondbacks stings. The way the team and the community supported him after his life threatening accident, spoke volumes about the organization and the fans. From a roster standpoint, his departure is manageable. With a starting rotation of Jarrod Parker, Brett Anderson, Tommy Milone, A.J. Griffin and Bartolo Colon armed and ready to go, the A’s should be in good shape heading into 2013. With McCarthy’s extensive history of shoulder injuries, it just didn’t make sense to bring him back at the money he was due to obtain on the open market.

In a world where Joe Blanton and Brandon League receive exorbitant contracts, the A’s have shied away from free agency and major moves, looking to be all the wiser for it. While the inactivity and relatively dormant winter may bore some, just be reminded of the the old saying…If ain’t broke don’t fix it.

This explains why he gets so worked up in his notes. (Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports)

NICE: Bob Melvin

“The A’s really seemed to strike gold when they hire Bob Melvin in 2011.  He gave the team just enough structure to keep them focused on their goals, but was relaxed enough to allow them to have fun while they did it.  He won the AL Manager of the Year, and deservedly so.  I expect bigger and better things from Melvin going forward, and I’ll leave a little extra strategic expertise under his tree.”

NICE: Tommy Milone

“Tommy Milone was one of my personal favorites this year because he didn’t flash the nasty stuff, the blazing fastball, the high strikeout numbers, but he was effective anyway.  He set an Oakland rookie record for wins with his 13 this season, and for the first half he truly dominated in Oakland.  He may have been one of many pieces the A’s got in return for Gio Gonzalez, but he’s the one who’s already had the biggest impact in Oakland.  With a little more experience and some fine tuning he can continue to develop as a solid middle of the rotation starter.  He deserves a lot more credit than he received, maybe a 15 win 3.25 ERA type season in 2013 might do the trick, he’ll find that sitting under his tree.”

NICE: Travis Blackley

“What more can you say about a guy’s grit and determination?  He travelled all across the world, pitching in Korea in an effort to make his way back to the Major Leagues and he did it with the Athletics better than he ever had before.  He hadn’t won a single game in almost 8 years before collecting the first of his 6 wins in 2012, talk about perseverance!  He proved that he can pitch at this level, and for that he shall stay.  I hope he gets comfortable playing in Oakland, because that’s where he belongs, and I’ll leave another magical season with the Athletics under his tree.  Our bad indeed.”

NAUGHTY: Ryan Cook

“This is not to say Ryan Cook did not perform very well at times, but there was some rather frustrating moments to say the least.  His tendency to walk hitters and get himself into sticky situations was not pleasant to watch and he needs to cut that out if he wants to have sustained success in Oakland.  There’s no doubt he has nasty stuff, but he needs to be able to harness it.  I expect big things from him in the future, so I’ll leave him a drastically decreased walk rate in 2013 under the tree, or else we might have a problem.”

NAUGHTY: Cliff Pennington

“This year was supposed to be his breakout season, when he established himself as a legitimate shortstop in the Major Leagues.  But instead he struggled so horribly that the A’s had to go out and trade for a replacement to keep him from dragging the team down.  I’m not saying he’s a bad teammate, because he most certainly is not, but his bat left much to be desired.  Now he’s been dealt to the Arizona Diamondbacks, who already have acquired a shortstop to play ahead of him and he hasn’t even suited up for the Snakes.  He’ll have to make an impact in a very limited sample to increase his time on the field, but at least he’s playing with a ton of former Athletics.    Something as simple as a batting average over .250 for him next year will seem like a huge boost, so I’ll leave that for him under the tree.”

NAUGHTY: Daric Barton/Billy Beane

“You may wonder why did Daric Barton make my naughty list?  It’s simple, he just won’t go away.  I understand he had one solid season in 2010 where he showed exceptional on base skills, but he’s never shown on any consistent basis that he can be a productive Major Leaguer.  Yet GM Billy Beane continues to have some kind of fascination with him that keeps him around.  I don’t get it honestly, and I don’t think he’ll ever be a productive Athletic.  If Billy Beane doesn’t get over his fascination with Barton and his walks, we may never see him leave the Athletics and that’s bad for everyone involved.  I’m going to0 leave something under both of their trees that should have been there a long time ago, Barton’s walking papers.  It may be harsh, but it’s the truth.”

So there you have it, the best of the best from Santa Claus himself.  The man sure has a strong opinion on just about everything Athletics.  It’s quite nice to see to be quite honest.  Be sure to stay tuned to Swingin’ A’s in the Spring when I bring to you the Easter Bunny’s Spring Training roster cut opinions, that’ll sure to be a good read.  Till then, Happy Holidays everyone!

Aug 18, 2012; Papillion, NE, USA; Omaha Storm Chasers center fielder Wil Myers (8) at bat in the third inning against the Nashville Sounds at Werner Park. Mandatory Credit: Matt Ryerson-USA TODAY Sports

This offseason in particular has been unusual for the Athletics compared to recent years as Beane finds himself at the helm of a possible budding perennial contender, rather than in something of a rebuild mode.  Meanwhile money is being given away like it’s going out of style all round the league, creating a free agent market fit for the haves, and a trade market littered with teams whose GM’s are hell bent on pleasing their owner’s pocket books.  I can’t honestly recall an offseason as strange as this one.  We just saw the Los Angeles Dodgers open their pocket books and commit $189 million to 2 starting pitchers, one of whom has never thrown a pitch in the Major Leagues.  Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu will more than likely help the Dodgers keep up with the magical San Francisco Giants, but it takes much more than assembling a roster of talent to win.

Of course the Greinke signing had reverberations all through the AL West, the gutting of the Angels starting rotation continued after the departures of Dan Haren, Ervin Santana (A definite A’s killer), and now Zack Greinke, and the Texas Rangers were thought to be the final competition for the Dodgers for Greinke’s services.  Greinke is now out of the American League altogether, and while I personally think he’s a little overrated, I’m not upset to see him not end up in the division.  So here we sit, Josh Hamilton remains out on the open market, no clear indication at this point as to where he’ll end up, and his ultimate destination could be back in Texas or he could possibly end up with their division rival Seattle Mariners.

Hamilton’s decision can either help keep the Rangers afloat, or possibly help the Mariners play catch up in a pretty balanced division.  There are a lot of variables still at play, and things could change greatly between now and Spring Training, but right now it looks like the division rivals of the Athletics are striking out in a big way.

This is why the A’s lack of activity is frustrating.  The recent surprising development that the Kansas City Royals were shopping super prospect Wil Myers in an effort to land a front line starting pitcher, ultimately acquiring James Shields and Wade Davis from the Tampa Bay Rays for Myers and other prospects, showed that GMs are willing to take drastic action to avoid dipping their toes into the free agent pool.  Yahoo’s Jeff Passan noted after the deal went down that the Royals had offered Myers to the Athletics straight up for Brett Anderson.  Surveying the “Twitterverse” after Passan said that, the most common reaction fell somewhere between “I don’t think so” to “OH HELL NO!!!!”  I disagree.

Brett Anderson is extremely talented, there’s no doubt about that.  But he seems like he could be another Rich Harden waiting to happen.  If I were Billy Beane I would’ve made that deal, and used that outfield surplus to fill the gaps in the rotation.  There’s no reason to think Billy Beane would be unable to swing a deal for a starter.

It may be unpopular with many fans, but replacing Josh Reddick in the outfield picture with Wil Myers would make the entire team better.

That leads me to Billy Beane’s second missed opportunity, and it came in a deal that just went down in the last couple days.  The Cincinatti Reds, Cleveland Indians, and Arizona Diamondbacks struck a 3 way deal that sent Shin-Soo Choo to the Reds, Drew Stubbs and DBacks pitcher Trevor Bauer to the Tribe, and defensive wiz shortstop Didi Gregorius to Arizona.  It’s very disappointing to see a shortstop with Gregorius’s potential slip through the cracks from a team with a need for another outfielder, which the A’s are full of.  If Choo was able to be the primary piece going to Cincinatti, a right fielder who’ll be moved to center, don’t tell me Billy couldn’t have acquired Didi just about straight up for Coco Crisp.  He should have.

I know Billy said after acquiring Chris Young that he had no plans to move any of the 4 starting caliber outfielders in his possession.  But with players like Michael Bourn asking for massive paydays, and B.J. Upton already getting his, why is Billy Beane sticking to his guns on that statement?  Someone like Josh Reddick may be at his peak value at this moment, and there is no guarantee he can maintain that level of production.  His rough second half has to put some doubt in the minds of the A’s brass, but if anyone can sell another GM on a player it’s Billy Beane.

The A’s inactivity has left questions as to whether they really plan to work to upgrade the roster, or if they think the 2012 roster will be good enough to repeat its performance in 2013.  Complacency is not the answer, and if the A’s want to make it far they may need to take a risk and roll the dice.